Nurse reprimanded for inappropriate and unprofessional communication

MULGRAVE: A Mulgrave nurse has been reprimanded for criticizing a patient’s family at an emergency room.

A disciplinary decision that was released on the Web site of the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (CRNNS) said nurse Donna Lynne Palmer Meagher spoke unprofessionally to a patient’s family after the patient arrived by ambulance at the emergency department.

“She made inappropriate comments suggesting that he should not have been brought to the hospital and expressed displeasure at his arrival.”

This was Palmer Meagher’s second complaint of inappropriate communication with a patient’s family in two years, the decision read.

The complaints committee of CRNNS determined Palmer Meagher breached professional misconduct by breaking the standards of practice for registered nurses and the code of ethics.

The committee released their decision on June 22, with Palmer Meagher consenting to the reprimand and the imposed conditions on her license July 8.

The decision said at her own expense, Palmer Meagher will access resources to improve her communication skills, attend a respectful workplace workshop offered by the Nova Scotia Nurses Union (NSNU), and engage in counseling from a treatment provider approved by the college to “address her communication challenges.”

Palmer Meagher must also submit a reflective essay no less than 1,000 words in the next six months, in which she will report and reflect on her learnings from the obtained counseling and the accessed resources.

A spokeswoman for the college said any information beyond what’s included in the decision couldn’t be released.

The decision didn’t establish where the incident occurred, but hospitals in the area include Guysborough Memorial, St. Martha’s Regional, and Strait Richmond.